Delaware agriculture: A to Z

Agriculture is Delaware's largest single land use, with 41 percent of Delaware's land in farming. Delaware has about 2,450 farms. More than 115,000 acres of Delaware farmland are permanently preserved for agriculture.

"Farmers are the backbone of Delaware's economy," Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee said. "But they're more than just tillers of soil – Delaware farmers are smart businesspeople as well."

Delaware's agricultural production is valued at $1.3 billion. In 2012, Delaware was just ahead of California in the market value of agricultural products sold per acre, at $2,505 to California's $1,667. It was No. 2 in the value of agricultural products sold per farm, at $519,794 to California's $547,510 according to the latest Census of Agriculture.

There's one last number to consider: the 100-mile diet, a philosophy of eating locally. And since Delaware is able to pack in so much agricultural variety into its tiny size (96 miles long and at most 35 miles wide), anyone in the state can enjoy a wide-ranging Delaware-only 100-mile diet.

A is for agritourism. Corn mazes, hayrides, u-pick crops, farm stays (where you sleep over and watch or help with chores) and other activities draw consumers to farms. In 2012, 43 Delaware farms had some sort of agritourism or recreational operation. Nearly 180 farms sell directly to consumers through farm stands or the state's 26 community-run farmers' markets.

B is for broilers and roasters. Poultry by far earns the most among Delaware farm products – $811 million for the birds and their eggs. Broilers are smaller and younger than roasters, with both types of chickens raised for their meat. They're so important that The News Journal and delawareonline plan to devote a separate Did You Know on them. But let's remember this amazing standing: Sussex County is the nation's No. 1 broiler county and has been since the 1940s, with 174 million birds produced in 2012. Polk County, Texas, ranked second, with 125 million birds.

C is for CSA. For more than 25 years, Community Supported Agriculture programs have let consumers prepay a local farmer for a weekly box of what's in season. The boxes feature the expected and the surprising – like Christmas presents, food writer Patricia Talorico suggested in 2012, when News Journal and delawareonline writers blogged about their CSA. They commented about anise, arugula, asparagus, baby bok choy, baby potatoes, basil, beets, blueberries, broccoli, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, corn, fava beans, jalapeno peppers, mint, mustard greens, oregano, parsley, Persian cress, purslane, radishes, potatoes, rhubarb, spring onions, strawberries, Swiss chard, tarragon, turnips, watermelon and zucchini. And that's definitely not all that they received.

D is for the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village. The Dover museum opened in 1980 to bring to life a 19th century farming community with 15 historic structures and a main exhibit hall, with more than 4,000 artifacts – including butter churns and the first broiler chicken house.

E is for equine. Delaware ranks third nationally in the number of equine (horses, ponies, mules, burros and donkeys) per county. In 2004, that meant 13,000, including 600 racehorses and 3,900 horses for pleasure riding. The USDA counted equines on 284 farms in 2012, generating $4.8 million in sales.

F is for field crops. Corn and soybeans are Delaware's largest crops, with 178,032 acres in corn and 167,672 in soybeans. They're mostly fed to all those chickens, which is why they're called field crops. The USDA includes them in a grouping called "grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas," generating $345 million in 2012 for 929 Delaware farms, making the category the No. 2 in revenue.

G for the grass. You may think of grass as just something to play on or to mow, but it's an agricultural product when sold as sod. For instance, the Apgar Turf Farm in Smyrna devotes 100 acres to sod. The USDA census includes sod with nurseries, greenhouses and floriculture and counts 97 farms generating $16.3 million in revenue, making it No. 5 on the list.

H is for 4-H. The H's stand for head, heart, hands and health, and they form the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension system of land-grant universities. In 2013, more than 45,000 Delaware schoolchildren – 30 percent of the state's students – participated in 4-H. Future Farmers of America also promote agriculture to young people, and Delaware provides loans through a Young Farmers Program to combat the high average age of Delaware farmers – 58.4 years old.

I is for ice cream. Milk, the state's official beverage since 1983, comes from the state's 4,700 dairy cattle on 50 farms. Revenue of $16.6 million made it Delaware's No. 4 farm product in 2012. Hy-Point Farms in Brandywine Hundred sells about 20 varieties of milk, and it can be turned into cheese (a century-old tradition in Wilmington's Little Italy) and ice cream. Delaware has four on-farm creameries serving ice cream: Hopkins Farm Creamery near Lewes, UDairy Creamery in Newark, Vanderwende Farm Creamery near Bridgeville and Woodside Farm Creamery near Hockessin. Besides the milk, cattle and calves on 293 farms generated $9.5 million in sales in 2012. As of early this year, the state had 2,800 beef cows and 16,000 calves.

J is for July. Since 1920, the Delaware State Fair, which starts at the end of July and peeks into August, for 10 days offers exhibits, demonstrations and competitions involving livestock, plants, agriculture, horticulture, mechanical arts and rural and domestic economy.

K is for kale. Kale was a featured crop when the Delaware Urban Farm Coalition created its first urban farm, at 12th and Brandywine streets, Wilmington. National Kale Day is the first Wednesday in October.

L is for lima beans. Lima beans have a proud history (as part of traditional succotash) but some issues for the future. In 2012 the USDA committed $1.5 million to improving the lima bean, focusing on Delaware's heat, humidity and diseases. That's because Delaware has more acreage for lima beans – 22,564 in 2012 – than any other place in the world. Remember that for April 20, which is National Lima Bean Respect Day.

M is for mills. When Delaware became the first state, America's largest concentration of flour mills were on the Brandywine and Red Clay creeks, according to Greenbank Mill, which re-creates life from the early republic, 1790-1830, from its holdings near Prices Corner. Wheat remains an important crop.

N is for Native Americans. Before Europeans settled, the Nanticoke, Delaware and Susquehanna "were mainly hunters and fishers, but they also had small patches of Indian corn, beans, squash and melons," according to "History of the Delaware State Grange." "They were Delaware's first farmers."

O is for the oldest family farms. Delaware has 129 Century Farms, covering active farms owned by the same family for at least 100 years. The oldest is the 1684 Miller Farm near Frederica, owned by Dr. Mary Miller.

P is for pigs. Delaware's 6,000 pigs, on 60 farms., contribute to scrapple, a regional delicacy. Rapa, which brothers Ralph and Paul Adams began in 1926 in Bridgeville, turns pork stock, pork livers, pork fat, pork snouts, corn meal, pork hearts, wheat flour, salt and spices into loaves. Scrapple is normally sliced and fried (maple syrup is optional). Bridgeville celebrates scrapple and apples with a festival.

Q is for the queens who promote farming. They include the Delaware Apple Queen, Delaware Peach Queen, Mar-Del Watermelon Queen, Sheep and Wool Queen, Delaware Dairy Princess and Delaware Quarter Horse Youth Association Prince and Princess. The Delaware Soybean Board, the Delaware Farm Bureau and the three county Farm Bureaus also have youth ambassadors.

R is for rabbits. The USDA Census of Agriculture in 2012 counted 92 Delaware farms raising "other" animals, including alpacas, bees, bison, emus, llamas and rabbits.

S is for strawberries. Delaware was once the world's largest shipping point of strawberries, the State Board of Agriculture wrote in 1926. That's why in the early 1900s, Delmar was nicknamed the strawberry capital of the nation. In 2010, the strawberry was named the state fruit, which the state code helpfully notes can be enjoyed as "strawberry shortcake, strawberries and cream, strawberry margaritas, strawberry daiquiris, strawberry milkshakes, strawberry ice cream, strawberry yogurt, strawberry bread, strawberry muffins, strawberry sorbet, strawberry mice, strawberries in champagne, strawberry wine, and just plain strawberries." Phew. Someone scoured a bunch of cookbooks or websites.

T is for (Christmas) trees. The USDA counted 25 farms with Christmas trees and short-rotation woody crops (but Delaware doesn't have any of the latter). Some are cut for you; some you cut; and some you can get live. Boughs and other cuttings are often available, too.

U is for the UD and DSU. As land-grant colleges since 1867 and 1890, they are charged with studying and improving local soils, plants, agricultural techniques and farmers' knowledge. In 1942, Delaware extension scientists were the first in the nation to develop artificial insemination of dairy herds, and in 1960 they built the first split-level dairy milking parlor, which became a national model. They carry out this mission through researchers, Cooperative Extension agents and trained volunteers.

V is for vegetables. The Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association of Delaware says 45,000 to 55,000 acres are planted each year in fruits and vegetables, with a third sold fresh and two-thirds intended for freezing, canning or pickling. Plants in Delaware and nearby states – such as Hanover, Seabrook, Pictsweet, Friels and J.G. Townsend – freeze and can peas, lima beans, snap beans and sweet corn. Delaware cucumbers and peppers are pickled by B&G and Vlasic. These vegetables, plus melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes grown on 221 farms generated $61 million in 2012, for the No. 3 position on the USDA's most-valuable farm product list.

W is for watermelons. State farmers' most popular fruit covers 2,800 acres, generating $10 million in sales. Laurel farmer Travis Hastings, who traces his watermelon heritage to his great-grandfather, once said they're the most challenging thing he grows, beset by diseases, insects and the vagaries of Mother Nature. But eventually it pays of when he delivers 700-pound bins of the summertime classic.

X is for Bombyx mori, the silkworm. (Yes, the X exists at the end – exactly how many agricultural expressions starting with X can you exhume?) In MDCCCXXXIX (1839), to get farmers excited about silk production, Delaware's Legislature offered a bounty of 50 cents per pound of silk and 15 cents per pound of cocoons that yield silk. A thousand mulberry trees were planted for silkworms to eat.

Y is for yellows. A disease called yellows killed Delaware's once-significant peach industry. The industry started in 1832 when Isaac Reeves planted 20 acres near Delaware City in peach trees. By 1875, Delaware was shipping six million baskets to market. In 1895, the peach blossom became the official state flower, and peach pie in 2009 was named the official state dessert. But from a peak of 4 million trees in the 1890s, the orchards were decimated by the blight, and there were just 300,000 trees by 1920. Today, 12 farms grow peaches on 234 acres.

Z is for Zwaanendael. That's the name of the Delaware's first European settlement, by the Dutch in 1631. They grew wheat, barley, corn and peas, while raising livestock for meat and milk. In 1788, James Tilton, a Dover farmer and the U.S. Army's first surgeon general, concluded the most important crops for Delaware then were corn, barley, wheat and garden truck (meaning various vegetables).